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Where Is Leonard Garcia?

by Luke Thomas on Apr 25, 2008 10:21 AM EDT in News Comment 11 comments

Steve Sievert ponders:

Lastly, there is no official on-the-record word from World Extreme Cagefighting regarding Leonard Garcia.

The promising lightweight, who fights out of Lubbock and is part of Greg Jackson's stable of fighters, was arrested late last month in connection with a drug trafficking case in west Texas. Garcia (11-3) was one of 13 people busted and accused of running cocaine, drug paraphernalia and firearms. He proclaimed his innocence to MMAjunkie.

WEC will not confirm whether the fighter is still under contract.

I checked the WEC website and Garcia is no longer listed on the fight roster. That's obviously not definitive proof of anything, but it's certainly eye raising. Even more intriguing is Garcia's situation, which is either the worst case of bad luck or the most normal case of drug trafficking exacted incompetently. Stay tuned.

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Re: Where Is Leonard Garcia?

Man...That picture always gets me. It looks like he's just got a *shrug* "ya caught me!" look going.

by Brent Brookhouse on Apr 25, 2008 10:55 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: Where Is Leonard Garcia?

Man, how many times are we going to have to go over this? A guy who has life by the nuts, doing what he wants, or most of us would want, being a full time fighter and this brutal criminal element comes into play. This is very Michael Vick. :P Weapons and Drugs charges are HUUUUUUUUUGE problems though, I doubt this guy will fight for the WEC again. :P

by Gabber on Apr 25, 2008 11:43 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: Where Is Leonard Garcia?

Let's not forget that the guy is innocent until proven guilty. Let's also not forget that America has the highest per capita imprisonment rates in the world, much of that due to our "war on drugs" which overwhelmingly imprisons black and brown men for crimes committed just as frequently by whites. From my experience with "Texas justice" I would not be surprised at all if Leonard got wrongly accused. At the same time, I wouldn't be shocked if he was guilty as sin. But so far the only evidence that's been produced against him has been an accusation by a snitch -- the currency of tainted drug war convictions.

by Kid Nate on Apr 25, 2008 11:59 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Where Is Leonard Garcia?

That high imprisonment rate is also responsible for the low rate of crime. As for the racial part of your argument, I'm not gonna touch that.

Intentional Blog on Balls

by Richard Wade on Apr 25, 2008 3:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Where Is Leonard Garcia?

We've got a much higher violent crime rate than any other industrialized nation.

by Kid Nate on Apr 25, 2008 6:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Where Is Leonard Garcia?

I wrote out a nice long reply, but I really have no desire to discuss politics on a MMA blog, so I deleted it.

Intentional Blog on Balls

by Richard Wade on Apr 25, 2008 6:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Where Is Leonard Garcia?

Richard = wise decision maker.

by Luke Thomas on Apr 25, 2008 7:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Where Is Leonard Garcia?

I'm not going to get into specifics on this, but a couple of things stick out for me.

First, the feds don't just throw around charges like this, so it makes me think they have the goods on him.

Second, while he seems like a good guy, it is easy for people to get tied up with stuff like this when they are looking to escape their upbringing.

One of my friends trains under Jackson and was shocked to hear this news, but said it answered many questions they had about LG and his finances. He echoed that he is a good guy, in the sense of being likable and such.

I doubt if we ever see him fight again, especially in the WEC or any Zuffa promotion.

by BJJDenver on Apr 25, 2008 12:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: Where Is Leonard Garcia?

While the feds are less likely to sweep up dozens of people without any evidence than the states, they nevertheless offer trades, in the form of lighter sentences and less asset forfeiture, to drug dealers if they incriminate associates -- often including wives, girlfriends and parents. The vast majority of those accused don't have the money to fight the case -- which is why you see 70 to 90% of these cases resulting in guilty pleas without a trial -- so the feds are not exactly required to be Sherlock Holmes in these cases. There's every chance Garcia is guilty, but it really cheeves me off to see everyone equate an indictment with a conviction.

by Kid Nate on Apr 25, 2008 12:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Where Is Leonard Garcia?

My personal stance is, if he is innocent, then i hope he is found that way. However, if he is guilty, I hope they throw the book at him like any other drug ring participant.

Bottom line is it is a shame, I think he had just found a home at 145 in the WEC.

And damn, what about Wesley Snipes! 3 years for tax fraud after paying it and trying to make some amends (finally). 3 years is a little harsh imo, but the judge admittedly wanted to make an example of him.

by BJJDenver on Apr 25, 2008 4:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Who Is Leonard Garcia?

BJJDenver and I have similar closer contact with this situation than most. I heard the exact same thing, that this whole thing answered a lot of questions about his finances.

Oh, and Kid Nate:

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/tables/viortrdtab.htm

See also - "The same pattern can be seen throughout Europe--indeed, in much of the developed world. Crime has recently hit record highs in Paris, Madrid, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Toronto, and a host of other major cities. In a 2001 study, the British Home Office (the equivalent of the U.S. Department of Justice) found violent and property crime increased in the late 1990s in every wealthy country except the United States. American property crime rates have been lower than those in Britain, Canada, and France since the early 1990s, and violent crime rates throughout the E.U., Australia, and Canada have recently begun to equal and even surpass those in the United States. Even Sweden, once the epitome of cosmopolitan
socialist prosperity, now has a crime victimization rate 20 percent higher than the United States." -- From "Crime without Punshment", a book about the differences in punishment vs the crime committed around the world.

by MoreThanUFC on Apr 25, 2008 9:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

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